Travelers of the Wind
by Miku39Hatsune
Summary: Things have settled after returning from the First Forest, or have they? One certain princess seems to be getting close to a certain butler but they both won't fully admit it to each other. And what is the nation past the frozen winter lands plotting while Selphia basks in a time of peace? Frey x Vishnal, Rated M due to suggestive themes, Explicit content will be hosted outside FF


Travelers of the Wind

(A/N: This takes place right after the fight with Leon. This will include some references to the plot afterwards, some sub events, as well as original plot. I apologize if things may be proceeding fast or appear to, I am still very inexperienced with what I am doing and have given up on many a project because of it, but I am hoping to make this one my first real success. I also apologize if this totally sucks, like I said I have never really finished anything because I hated how it sounded and would scrap it a thousand times, I'm trying though. This is basically a big pile of fluff for Frey x Vishnal, I will update the tags whenever FF adds them, I requested them already. Sooo...Enjoy my Fanfic and any non-bashing advice is very welcome!)

Chapter 1: Trouble in Springtime

The sun rose on yet another beautiful spring day in Selphia, shining through a nearby window onto the face of the land's "princess" and causing her to begrudgingly wake up. It had been naught a day since she had ventured to The First Forest and rescued Leon, and in turn, Venti as well. She had been perfectly resolved to have to stay there in order to save the mighty wind dragon's life, yet that very dragon appeared before the princess and took her out of the monster inhabited land and brought her home. She let out a groan and moved to the other side of her spacious double bed, away from the blinding, accursed light.

"Princess? It's time to-...She's still asleep?.."

Vishnal, her usual greeter in the morning, entered her room to find her bundled up in her covers in a futile effort to block out the lights. He thought for a moment on what to do before deciding to leave her be, he had overheard everything from his room the previous night when Ventuswill had returned with the princess. He had been in a bit of a shock to hear what had transpired and was worried about her to say the least. He quietly slipped outside and headed outside town...

-Several hours later-

Finally feeling somewhat rested, the princess left her bed at last, taking note that it was now well past noon. She stretched a bit but recoiled when a sharp pain ran through her right leg. She winced, sitting back down and letting out a sigh.

"That's right..I had forgotten that Leon's guardian form had gotten a good swipe at me when I was trying to cast a heal spell..."

She had a rather long gash running across her thigh but it seemed someone had bandaged it, probably Jones but she couldn't remember. She had passed out after talking with Venti and can only faintly remember feeling someone pick her up and move her to her bed.

"Looks like I can't do any work today at least. I hope my monsters will be okay working alone today.."

"No need to worry Princess, they have attended everything without a flaw." Vishnal assured her, returning from his trip to check on her. "But how are you doing today? You had gotten a rather bad injury and passed out in front of Ventuswill. I had found you after hearing her let out a deafening roar and carried you here while Clorica got Doctor Jones." Vishnal recounted for her. _"He was the one that carried me here? I'll have to thank him sometime later..." _She thought quietly to herself. "I'm alright I suppose, the slash still hurts so I don't think I can work today..." She answered. "If you are in pain Princess Frey then please rest today." Vishnal said, a touch of concern laced in his voice. "I...Okay, but I feel bad slacking off like this.." Frey muttered quietly. "Don't worry about it, I will explain to Lady Ventuswill myself and I am sure she will understand. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to rely on me." He said with a smile, giving her a small bow, then scurried off to explain to the large dragon. Frey watched him leave and when he was out of sight she laid back down, sleep taking her once more...

"Lady Ventuswill?"

"Who addresses me?" The dragon commanded.

"Vishnal. I have news concerning Princess Frey.." Vishnal said, a slight bit antsy. "Continue then Vishnal." Ventuswill said powerfully. "Her injury still bothers her enough to hinder her strength and she seemed tired still. She has decided to rest for the day in favor of not making matters worse." He explained. "Hmm..Very well, it is definitely for the best that she not push herself. Thank you Vishnal." The dragon said with a nod of thanks. "I will take my leave then Lady Ventuswill." He said and gave her a respectful bow before returning to his normal duties.

"Hmm, I hope she is alright...I feel bad enough that she was injured trying to save me...I never wanted this to happen to her, after losing all my other friends before I didn't want anything to happen to her too..." Ventuswill said, depression overcoming her. "No, she will be alright. I am sure Vishnal and the others will make sure of it." She said, raising her head skyward to watch the clouds pass by lazily.

The next day Frey woke up and tried to stretch her leg again, checking to see if it still stung. To her immense relief the pain seemed to have dulled to a light twinge if she pulled the muscles too much. "Great! I can get back to work!" She cheered happily. "Ah, I see you're awake early today princess. How are you today?" Vishnal said cheerfully as he checked on her like usual. "I feel much better now~ Oh I meant to say this yesterday, but, Thank You!" She said, giving him a small smile. "F-For What?" He asked. "For taking care of me when I passed out." Frey said, tilting her head at him curiously. "O-Oh, I did nothing you should be thanking Jones not me." He replied. "Nonsense, you carried me back to my room and took care of me didn't you? I could have gotten sick or worse if I had been left there since Venti can't really do much!" Frey answered back, attempting to convince him. "I-I guess I did didn't I?" Vishnal said, hiding a light blush from her by turning his face away. "I must go princess, I have to continue my training to become an elite butler. Be careful alright?" He said, glancing back to her again. "Of course, later Vishnal." She smiled and waved at him as he ran outside.

"Alright time to get back to work, I am sure there is still much that needs to be done even if Venti has recovered her strength." She said and rushed outside, eager to get life back to normal...

-A week later, Late Spring-

"I feel a shift in the aura of the town...Something is changing...slowly..." Ventuswill said, giving a thoughtful gaze to Volkanon. "I know what you mean Lady Ventuswill, I have a small hunch but it's too early to tell." Volkanon replied. "You don't mean to say..." The dragon said, lowering her head to his level. "Like I said Lady Ventuswill, it is but a hunch. Let things play out and we shall see if I am correct." He replied. "Very well..." The wind dragon said, glancing towards Frey room.

"Vishnal?" Frey called out to the silver-blue haired butler. "Ah, what is it princess?" He replied, giving her a curious glance while putting away several dishes. "Umm...Eh..Would you accompany me today? I have heard several large monsters are causing trouble and I was going to go stop them...But I would feel more comfortable if I had you with me.." She said, stuttering with slight embarrassment. "I would be honored to have a chance to fight by your side. Let's go!" Vishnal said, a fire in his eyes. He ran off to his room to collect his gear and met her outside the main gates.

Together they rushed through the forest, cutting down several smaller monsters in their path. Their destination was the Delirium Lava Ruins. Several dragons had been reported rampaging and causing other smaller monsters to infest the forest, making the roads more hazardous. "How are you doing princess?" Vishnal said, sheathing his dual swords after slaying a wolf. "I'm fine, just hard to swing this heavy sword around compared to your lighter dual blades but I like this weapon nonetheless." Frey replied, sheathing her heavy sword on her back. "The entrance is just ahead so let's be careful, if these wolves living outside are any sign then it's a bad one" Frey said, approaching a large opening in the rock wall. "Why is that?" Vishnal asked. "Because the wolves are some of the stronger monsters and if they have been forced out it can only mean these dragons are big trouble.." She replied, steeling her nerves for whatever may lie inside.

The sweltering heat blasted them the moment they entered. Lava bubbled under the pathways and fire occasionally spewed forth from large craters. It was almost in tolerable, Frey kneeled down, panting from the excessive heat. Vishnal gritted his teeth and pulled her back up, the heat overbearing to him as well. "Th-Thank you..C'mon let's make this fast, this place is too hot.." Frey muttered. "Agreed, let's continue then."

They proceeded through the dungeon, deeper into the burning inferno, finding no other monsters. "Vishnal, this is weird..The other monsters are gone..." Frey said, glancing around to find any signs of the dragons. "Yes it is unusual..." He said...walking forward a few paces in thought. She took a deep, shuddering breath and followed him. However just as she neared him, a blazing fireball flew out of nowhere and rammed into her, sending her crashing into the wall. "Princess?!" Vishnal shouted and turned towards the direction the fireball had shot out from. He backed up cautiously to her, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings while she recovered from the surprise shot. "Are you alright?" He muttered. "Hah..Hah...I'm...Fine.." Frey said, slowly getting to her feet and drawing her blade and shield.

They stood back to back, attempting to locate the source of the surprise fireball. Frey glanced around and then a feeling of dread crossed her mind and she gave a fearful glance towards the ceiling. "Vishnal..." Frey said, grabbing his sleeve and tugging at him. "What's wrong?" He asked, turning to her and then followed her gaze. He let out a gasp, there above them, three incredibly large fire dragons circled around as a forth joined them. They let out deafening cries and roars, then began to fly straight at the duo, letting several more fireballs spew from their mouths. "Watch out!" Vishnal cried and shoved Frey out of the way of one of the fireballs while he managed to protect himself from another with his blades but it only lessened the damage. "Vishnal!" Frey cried as she darted up from the ground and back to his side. "I'm fine princess." He reassured her and took on a fighting stance.

The dragons raged down upon them, landing with such force that it caused earthquake sized tremors. They had surrounded the princess and butler and left no room for an escape. Frey let out a low growl and flashed forward, weeks of training with Forte giving her skills beyond even the knight's, and sliced the first dragon clear across it's wings, rendering it flightless. Vishnal took a moment's chance and leaped high into the air, then came down crashing upon the second dragon with a quick flurry of slices, one well placed slash cutting across it's eye. Both dragons let out a fierce and angry roar and rushed forward, their companions letting loose streams of fire. Frey jumped and backflipped over the half blind dragon, avoiding it and the fire from the other two, however Vishnal didn't have the same athletic ability as her and barely managed to roll out of the way of the flightless dragon, but was caught in the streams of fire. He let out an agonized cry of pain and shakily regained his footing.

"Vishnal!" Frey called out to him but the dragons wouldn't move out of her way. She let out a rather un-princess like howl of anger and flashed forward again, slicing through the dragons and to Vishnal's side. All four dragons let out screams of pain and rushed at them. "Vishnal!" Frey yelled behind her. "What?" Vishnal asked, eyeing the dragons and their approach. "Listen I only have one shot at this and i'll need your help! I'm going to strike through them again, when they all land against the wall I want you to do that whirlwind attack you're good at and finish them off before they recover! If this fails more than likely i'll be too tired to continue..." She shouted to him, getting into position. "You have my word! I won't let them stand again!" He yelled back, taking a defensive stance behind her.

"Now!" She cried and once more flashed forward, her body only had enough energy for this last assault, and let out one last powerful slice against all four dragons and sent them flying into a cave wall. Vishnal wasted no time rushing behind her and executed a twirl, spinning his dual blades around him. The dragons let out pitiful cries and slumped to the ground in defeat. "We did it!" Vishnal shouted cheerfully and sheathed his blades. "..Hah..Hah...Y-Yeah we did." She breathed out shakily and gave him a smile.

However all was not fine, one dragon, still somewhat conscious, lifted it's head and let out one last fireball. It hurled it at Frey and it hit her clear on the back. It cried again and it's head fell, life leaving it's body. The fireball sent Frey flying forward, she rolled several times on the ground and came to a skidding halt right at the edge of the pathway, the lava under it bubbling dangerously. "P-Princess!" Vishnal shouted in panic and rushed to her, pulling her away from the edge of the pathway. "V...Vishnal...I..." She tried to speak to him but fainted, her injuries and exhaustion had caught up to her, the heat didn't help either.

"_Damnit...I have to get her out of here but I don't think I can concentrate enough to teleport us back..I'll have to carry her myself..This makes twice now, how strange how it always ends up being me...Hmm..No time to think about it now, I have to get her out of here!_" He mused but then shook his head and picked her up on his back. He blinked for a moment, she felt light...Too light. _"What's going on? She's way too light...Has she not been eating?...Or did something else happen?...It's no wonder she wore out so fast...I have to hurry she might be in more danger than it appears!" _He mused as he ran through the sweltering dungeon.

He ran as fast as he could, regret filling his heart, as a butler he should have protected her better. He could hear her breathing heavily and she felt warm on his back, way too warm. He growled in frustration but stopped when he took notice of an abandoned house just a little ways away. He ran towards it with haste, he needed to check her condition but the run to town would take too long to get her professional help. He would have to do everything he could on his own. In no time at all he reached the vacant house and managed to kick the door in, breaking the lock in the process. Vishnal glanced around and spotted a worn down bed. He walked over to it and laid Frey down gently.

"This is bad...It's getting dark..." Vishnal muttered quietly. He found a few candles and lit them, their dim light casting the room in a dark orange glow. He returned to her and put his hand on her forehead, sighing when he felt that she was indeed too warm. "She's way too warm...And she's struggling to even breathe...That gash must have gotten infected but healed over it. It's making her feverish and it could get worse if left untreated any further.. What was it I read about before, I remember a plant could be mixed with pure water to create a cure-all...Oh! It was a tall green plant with star-ish shaped leaves! But I can't leave her here alone..I'll have to, I have to get that medicine!" He said to himself, and with that resolution, ran outside and searched for the plant and some clear water.

Vishnal returned a little after night fall, successful in his mission. He took some of the extra water and doused a cloth in it, placing on Frey's forehead to bring her some relief. "..Hah...Hah...Vi...shnal..." She breathed out. He nearly dropped the medicine in shock, "_She's...Calling for me?"_ He said, not moving or making a single sound. "Vish...nal...Hah...Hah...The...dra..gons...Look.. .Hah...out..." She mumbled. "_She must be delirious from the fever..." _He mused. "..Hah...Vish..nal...Hah...I...can't..lose you...Hah...I..stop...Hah...dragons...Before..Hah. ..hurt..." She continued muttering. "_What?! That whole time she was worried about me?! I should be the one worrying about her..." _He said, a sad sigh escaping his lips. He found a spoon and cleaned it thoroughly and gave her some of the medicine. "All I can do now...is wait.." He said, taking a chair and pulling it to the bedside.

He kept watch over her for hours, thankfully her breathing had normalized and her fever had gone down. He had lost track of time as the moon rose into the sky only to be covered by clouds. Thunder boomed outside, rattling the house and he heard Frey whimper when it boomed again. ".._Is she...afraid of lightning storms?...That explains why she always protested waking up on stormy days..But...What can I do for her?.." _Vishnal thought to himself. Rain began pelting the windows as lightning flashed brightly, it appeared the storm had only just begun.

A bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree and almost instantly a loud snap of thunder shook the entire house. "..Vish..nal.." She cried out, turning on her side away from the window, the cry snapping Vishnal to attention. "_Wha?...Is she still delirious?..." _He said, giving her a curious glance. Again the lightning struck nearby with an earth shaking boom of thunder following. Frey flinched and cried out to him again, shivering slightly. "_No...This isn't like before...She really is calling out to me although she doesn't realize it I bet...But I didn't think we were that close...Though it has been three years hasn't it? I guess I never noticed how fast time flew since she first arrived from the sky. She must feel close to me in some way but I can't say anything about it. I'd rather not question the bond we have because if she does think of me as somebody close to her than I'd rather not put that in danger of being lost. Now...What can I do for her now though..." _Vishnal thought to himself, a very light blush staining his cheeks.

He was in quite the pickle, if he does nothing he worries about her, and anything he does could be a bit forward with her and possibly imply a thing or two and he doesn't want to jeopardize their friendship, should she wake up and notice. He needed to sort out his muddled feelings one of these days while making sure to keep his friendship with the princess the same as always. He sighed and pulled the chair closer, taking a chance that his next action would be so simple and innocent it wouldn't hurt anything. He reached under the blanket and found her hand, holding onto it tightly. Frey stopped shivering and didn't flinch anymore when the thunder would rumble across the sky. She sighed softly and fell back into a deeper sleep. Vishnal smiled gently at her, he had to admit he did feel a strange closeness to her after all this time. He draped his arm on the back of the chair and laid his head down, watching her closely until he too fell asleep.

The next morning Frey woke up, feeling stiff and groggy. She opened one eye, glancing around and learned she was not in any place familiar to her. _"Where are I?...How did I get here?...I remember being attacked by a fireball then everything blurs...Wait where's Vishnal?!" _She thought, panic sinking it's claws into her heart. She opened her other eye and searched frantically around her and finally taking notice of him, asleep still on the chair. "_He's okay...Good, I would have been rather upset if something had happened to him too..." _She mused in relief. She made to move and sit up but felt an unfamiliar weight holding her hand down. She glanced down to her hand and nearly choked when she realized that Vishnal was holding onto her hand, their fingers interlaced. "_Geh! Why is he-! I know I feel close to him but this-! This is-... I-I'm not ready to admit I may like having him around! But this...feels so nice...Geh, nonono- bad Frey!" _She mentally scolded herself, she admitted she did see him as somebody close to her heart but she wouldn't admit that she liked him far beyond that of normal friends or their princess/butler relationship. Fate would play her an annoying card though. As she tried to hide the faint blush dusting her cheeks Vishnal just happened to wake up, right now of all times.

"Hmm?..Oh you're awa-..." He began but stopped. One second passed, two, three. He freaked out, releasing her hand and flipped himself backwards on the chair in the process, and hit his head rather hard on the floor. "V-Vishnal! Are you alright?!" Frey said, peering at him from over the bed side. "Y-Yeah I'm okay..." He said, giving her an embarrassed smile and picked himself up off the floor. "S-So why were you..." She trailed off, giving him a curious stare. "Ah...Eh..How do I explain...I'll start from the beginning. One of the dragons still had some life to it and shot you with a fireball." He began. "That much I remember but it blurs after that, I remember nothing until just now." She said, tilting her head. "Allow me to continue then princess. After it knocked you out I knew I needed to get you medical attention but with how exhausted I was I couldn't teleport us back to town. So I pulled you onto my back and carried you out of the cave, but you were way too light for normal." He continued.

"_Again?! Now I feel bad, he's always having to rescue me..."_ He thought to herself. "By the time I had begun to reach the end of the forest you had begun to breathe heavily and was running a bad fever. I didn't think I could get you to town in time to get you proper help and so I searched for somewhere to bring you and saw this abandoned house. I brought you here and checked how bad your condition was. I believe your gash had gotten an infection right before the physical wound healed and it made you very sick. So I decided to head out quickly and find a medical plant I read about once to make you a cure all potion." He said. "_Wow...He really went out of his way for me...And I didn't realize I had gotten so light or sick for that matter..." _She said while giving him a concerned look.

"So...I found the plant and made the medicine but when I returned you...ehm...started talking in your sleep, from the fever more or less..." He recounted, refusing to meet her gaze. "I did what?!" She shouted, embarrassment apparent. "Ehm..Like I said it was more or less the fever talking...Anyways I gave you the medicine and pulled up this chair to keep watch over you incase things got worse. Several hours went by and your condition finally improved, your fever broke and your breathing had stabilized, it was a huge relief. I think it was around midnight that it started storming...You...You're afraid of storms aren't you princess?" He asked. "Geh...I...I am.." She replied, hiding her face from him. "Then my hunch was correct. You had started shivering and whimpering in your sleep the moment it started storming. Y...Y-You even started calling out for me..." He muttered almost inaudibly.

"_Why do I talk in my sleep?! I was seriously...I did...I really...Cried out for him?...Crap...This is bad...Didn't I just tell myself I wasn't going to admit I..." _She fought inside her head, conflicted on her future. "A-Anyways! I was conflicted on what to do but I wanted to help you so badly so I thought maybe if I...comforted you just a little it would help and it did...You were silent and calmed down almost immediately...I didn't want to leave you alone again since you seemed so afraid at the time so I fell asleep and...Here we are..." He said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Uh..Th-Thank you Vishnal...For...Taking care of me. I feel much better today so, shall we head back? I'm sure Volkanon is crying or something because he's worried about us both, Venti must be worried as well." She said, smiling brightly. "Right, let's go then." He said, offering her his hand. She took it and he cast the teleport spell, bringing them home finally...

The moment they entered Ventuswill's chamber, the dragon roared, a gush of powerful wind rushing past them. "Frey! What happened? You left yesterday and never returned! I was worried something happened." Ventuswill said, being mindful not to use her more friendly voice with Vishnal nearby. "Well something kinda did...You remember that rumor about those rampaging dragons?" Frey said while taking a few steps closer to the green dragon. "I do, and it's been quiet since yesterday...Wait you went after them didn't you?" Ventuswill said with a glare towards Frey. "Eh-heheheh...Well I did, but Vishnal went with me since dragons are dangerous.." She said with a grin. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Ventuswill roared. "Nothing Venti~" Frey said with a snicker. "Anyways, so we traced the dragons to the Lava Caves and found no monsters inside, scared off by the dragons we assumed. We went deep into the cave and got ambushed by them, but using a nice combination of our abilities we defeated them." She recounted. "Shall I explain from here Princess?" Vishnal cut in. "Ah, yes you remember more than I do." Frey said, stepping back beside him. Vishnal nodded, giving a respectful bow to the dragon before continuing Frey's story.

"After they fell one of them managed to fire off a final attack and injured her badly, she passed out. I didn't have it in me to cast a return spell so I carried her out myself. Though by the time I managed to get to the edge of the Autumn Forest she had come down with a bad fever, brought on by an infection in that wound she got fighting Leon. So I took shelter in a vacant house nearby and prepared a medicine to bring down the fever and battle the infection. By this morning she was fine so we returned here." Vishnal continued. "_I won't mention what...else occurred last night and this morning..I am sure Frey is just as embarrassed as I am about it..._" He said in his head, he knew things from this day forward would be shaky, he needed to be cautious. "Hmm...Vishnal, I am glad you went with her. Even if she had managed the dragons alone she could have ended up dead for all we know if that infection had taken a deeper hold, you have my gratitude." Ventuswill spoke powerfully. "I am honored Lady Ventuswill." He said smiling. "Frey, please, be more careful from now on. I can't lose you." The dragon spoke quietly, lowering her head to Frey's level. "I-I'm sorry Venti I had no clue..." She muttered. "Well everything is okay now that's all that matters, go on now. I am sure you have much to do." Ventuswill spoke again. The two waved to the dragon and left, getting back to daily life...


End file.
